Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve heard about Ken’neka Jenkins (Martin) from Chicago. She was a 19-year-old girl who went to a party at the Crowne Plaza in Rosemont IL. By all accounts, Kenneka wasn’t supposed to be at this party but was persuaded to go by her friend Irene Roberts, it was her 19th birthday. Kenneka died, alone in a freezer. She wasn’t found for 21 hours.

The purpose of this blog is two-fold. First, as a parent, I became so involved in why and how this girl died. Second, if there was a plot behind all of this, I wanted to understand why. My desire to see justice sometimes overrides my sensibility. There are countless theories flying around social media. YouTube users have spoken on every theory imaginable. Facebook users are scanning all and every profile ever connected to Kenneka. I’ve done my best not to fall down the rabbit hole entirely. I am using footage from the hotel, accounts from family and friends to piece this together.

Much of the ladies social media has been deleted. There are various screenshots of deleted posts all over Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. I won’t detail all of that here.

Kenneka goes to the hotel room that is filled without about 40 teens/young adults. They had 2 rooms. Several people went “live” on Facebook during this time, Irene and Ty Rowland’s have been the most analyzed and shared. People used software to get clearer images from Irene’s sunglasses. They did voice analyzation to clear up the audio. Many said they heard Kenneka being raped during Irene’s live video.

During the initial look at this case, the fingers all seemed to point to Irene, Monifah and a few of the guys who attended the party. Some said Kenneka was killed by the men, set up by her friends, killed because of rival gangs….the theories were all over the place. I gave that some thought and let it simmer for a while.

Another theory was her mom “sacrificed” her. This seems very far-fetched to me. I still cannot get onboard with that story.

One theory that could be almost believable is that the hotel found her and tried to cover it up. Why would I believe this? The area that Kenneka was found in is being leased to the Murray family (Bill Murray of Caddyshack) to open up a Caddyshack themed restaurant. That means money lost and bad publicity. Additionally, the police told Ms. Martin her daughter Kenneka was seen stumbling past the lobby’s front desk at 3:20am. Over 36 hours of footage was released covering the time periods of 9/8/17 through 9/10/17. I’ve watched the lobby videos at least 20 times. There is no 3:20 am. There is a 3:19am that skips to 3:21am. If the police saw Kenneka at 3:20am, why wasn’t that specific part released?

The timeline of events:

Kenneka’s mom Tereasa Martin states that she was going bowling to celebrate a new job at a nursing home. She left home at 11:30 PM on 9/8/17. At 12:11 AM on 9/9 Kenneka is seen walking through the Crowne Plaza Hotel parking lot with Shamaya Winder, Monifah Shelton and Abreonna Mays. The walk into the hotel at 12:13 AM. This fits with the length of time it takes to get from Kenneka’s house to the Crowne Plaza.

Before we begin:

There have been many discrepancies around the two different times shown on some videos. There is a upper left time and an upper right time as well as a time in the middle bottom. I’ve checked what time the sun rose in Chicago on 9/10/17 and compared it to video from the hotel. As you can see, the sun rose at 6:26 am. If you look at the comparison of 5:26 AM and 6:26 am, it’s clear the upper right and middle are correct.

September 7th, 2017, two people arrive at the hotel to book the rooms for the party on the 9th. We have come to find out the credit card was stolen and there are warrants out for the arrest of the young lady who used the card. Her name is Shaniqua Watkins. Photo below.

September 8th, 2017: Kenneka leaves home at 11:30 PM.

She arrives at the Crowne Plaza (approx. 30 to 40 mins from home) at 1:11 AM (house is approx 30 to 40 mins away. She may have picked up her friends before arriving).

Irene Roberts goes live sometime during the party. The account of the times she went live aren’t set in stone. It has been deleted from the original page (Monifah Shelton’s FB page). We believe she went live a few times between 12:55 am and almost 2 am. Kenneka isn’t seen in these videos but you can hear her (allegedly) in the background.

Ty Rowland also goes live during the party. Kenneka is seen in this video. We believe he is live closer to 2:30 am. Kenneka is standing up wearing the blue jean jacket, her hair is in front of her. At this point, she is holding her phone.

Based off of the footage the hotel released to the police, Kenneka was stumbling around the hallways. She is very close to the lobby at many points during the video. Unfortunately, she never makes it in front of the lobby camera despite the police claims that she does. You can watch the entire lobby video for that time here: Lobby Video

The story is told that Shamaya and Monifah leave with Kenneka. Kenneka realizes she left her phone inside so Shamaya offers to go get it. Monifah stays with Kenneka. Shortly afterward Monifah enters the room alone. When questioned she says Kenneka wandered off. Most of the group think she’s “playing” and don’t go look for her. Others do. You can see them walking around from around 3:30 am until almost 5:45 am.

Here is BreBre walking past the very steps that lead to where Kenneka is.

3:26 am

Monifah and group looking

Kenneka entering the kitchen. Behind that corner is the freezer.

Around 4am, one of the girls calls Ms. Martin to let her know they’ve lost sight of Kenneka. Ms. Martin says she got herself together, the “friend” brought her the car and she went straight to the hotel. She calls the police from outside of the hotel. She tells them she went inside and they could not help her, would not let her view the videos and told her to file a police report. I understand this. She could have been anyone and they cannot turn over video files without authorization.

You can listen to the 911 call here (please disregard the officer finding Kenneka in the freezer, many videos have been edited to add that part in, it happened later). 911 call

We see Ms. Martin arrive at 6:52 am. Not at 5 am as she told the media. Why there is such a large time gap, we do not know. Did she drop the friends off at home? If that were your child would you take the time to go drop people off?

A police report was filed at 1:16 PM by Kenneka’s older sister Leonore Harris on 9/9/17.

News reports state that Ms. Martin and her daughter Leonore return to the hotel at 6 PM and begin knocking on doors trying to find out where Kenneka is. It’s been said they asked her to leave and began looking at the video footage in earnest. Around 10pm she was notified that Kenneka had been seen in the front lobby staggering. No such footage can be found.

We see the police arrive at the hotel somewhere around midnight on the 9th. At 12:24 am (10th) we see a person who is employed by the hotel arrive in the kitchen (we presume he’d been watching the videos and went to look down there). He discovers Kenneka in a freezer and goes to get a police officer. The office enters the scene at 12:25 am. We see the officer get a box of oil to prop the door open. (Many were wondering if he was carrying a bag and if so, why wasn’t it in his hand upon return).

The officer who calls in Kenneka’s death says she is “frozen solid”. This will be discussed later.

We then see many officers come into the kitchen and begin going to the freezer. Kenneka is pronounced dead at 12:48 am. Ms. Martin and Ms. Harris aren’t able to view Kenneka’s body until 5:07 am. They were told Kenneka was found inside a cooler that housed a freezer. She was in the freezer laying facedown. The sister has said her sister looked like she’d been fighting, her hair was everywhere and water was all over her head (assuming from the turning off of the freezer). But the sister also said the freezer was warm and there was 1 ice cube on the floor. So, the question is, was the freezer on or off?

The reaction of the mom and sister has many questioning what is going on. Both seem to just stare. Perhaps they are shocked? Maybe they’ve waited all this time and are just exhausted? Maybe something else is going on. We do not know the answers to that.

Quickly after this interview, a protest began to form and the story of Kenneka’s death went viral. There are Facebook groups with over 30k people in them. People were outraged and still are, for good reason. This young girl needlessly lost her life. People want to know why. The protests drew almost 2,000 people some days. Then quite abruptly the protests were called off. The official story is Ms. Martin felt that the main protestor, Jedidiah Brown had issues with a girl at the protest. Rumors flew. Soon there was a new allegation, the Freedom Fighters (Mr. Brown’s group) had started a fund to help bail people out (some were arrested), feed them and help with travel. They contend Ms. Martin always knew of this fund. Ms. Martin says she didn’t and it’s irrelevant but many times refers to it. Many of the protestors were extremely upset over the canceling of the protests as they all felt the pressure on the hotel was working and unedited tapes would soon be released. A few days later Ms. Martin did a Facebook live video where she strangely says she was advised by activist Andrew Holmes to stop the protests because the hotel was losing money. I find that strange because isn’t that the goal? To financially cripple the hotel until they give you what you’ve been seeking? In any case, the video was very odd to many. Today the protest continue but in very small numbers.

Kenneka was laid to rest on Sept 30th. Her funeral was attended by thousands. On the same day, the long-awaited autopsy came out. You can read it in full here: Autopsy

This wasn’t the first autopsy. We initially heard the autopsy was “inconclusive”. We’ve also heard that the mom has ordered a private autopsy. We are unable to confirm this.

Her alcohol level was .112 (higher than the legal driving limit of .08 and Topiramate was found in her system. That is a drug used for epilepsy and migraine preventative drug. Kenneka had neither condition. It is not used for common headaches.

Her brain was swollen but said to have not contributed to her cause of death. I’ve read that hypothermia can cause a brain to swell but I’ve already read cold temps can reduce swelling.

She had an abrasion and a contusion on her right leg.

The lividity was on her left side (not on her front which is odd since she was said to be laying face down).

The lividity was red/purple. In cases of hypothermia, I’ve read it should be a bright pink.

She died of hypothermia.

Her thymus wasn’t present

Her kidney weights seemed off for a girl who weighs 159 lbs

Her right middle lobe (lung) was missing

She was missing one shoe (she had both when she walked in but perhaps they mean she was wearing one shoe).

I’ve got a lot of problems with this case. The story. The behaviors of the mom and the friends. I have tried to consider that they live in a different world. Gangs run rampant and they’ve seen a lot. One of Kenneka’s brothers is in prison currently. It’s rumored another brother is dead although I haven’t confirmed that. Her sister’s children’s dad was also gunned down. These aren’t weak or fragile people. After going through so much perhaps you become numb to tragedy? I do not know and I cannot judge them so I will just say my reaction to this situation would have been much different.

Outstanding questions:

Why wasn’t the hotel more careful with locks on freezers? Many of the others had locks but not this one.

Why wasn’t the camera over the freezer working? All of the others leading there were. How long had it been broken?

If this area was to be rented to the Murray brothers and was under construction, where is the construction equipment? Why wasn’t it off limits?

How did Kenneka’s friends “lose” her in a matter of moments?

When did they call Ms. Martin?

Who brought Ms. Martin her car?

Why did it take so long for Ms. Martin to arrive at the hotel?

Why wasn’t this treated as a crime scene from the moment Kenneka was found? (gloves, tape etc)

Where is the lobby footage from 3:20 am?

Why isn’t the lividity consistent?

Where did she get Topiramate? Has everyone’s medical history been checked to see who had this drug and how she may have gotten it?

All of her friends say she drank 1 cup of liquor yet her alcohol level was much higher.

Possible theories:

Organ harvesting. Chicago has been involved in some serious organ harvesting scandals – 2014 and 2017.

Protecting the hotel and the new restaurant (money and publicity)

Mom has been paid off or will be (which is why she’s staying so silent and peaceful about everything.

Someone did slip her that drug in hopes she’d be disoriented. Monifah and Shamaya got her out of there before anything happened but then Monifah somehow lost track of her and she walked into that freezer alone.

If I were to co-sign any theory that was out there, I’d use this site as my reference. They were on it day 1 and claim to have spoken to hotel employees. Bazaardaily.co.uk

Theories that make no sense:

Friends sold her for $200. Too much involved. We see her walking down the hallway after the live videos. We see her walk through the kitchen. No one in her family has claimed that isn’t her in the videos so why are we?

She died on the 6th, not the 9th. Why hadn’t she been reported missing sooner? Where are the posts, searches, police reports from the 6th? Yes, one cousin posts on the 9th at 4:38 pm that Kenneka has been missing since “yesterday” but it’s 13 hours later…so maybe a simple error.

Her friends set her up because she was prettier. I won’t even entertain that.

Her mom “sacrificed her”. Show me the proof. All I’ve seen so far are very strange YouTube videos that have no proof and a lot of talking.

The friends set her up and accidentally killed her. Possible but think for a moment. How do 40 kids keep 1 story straight? They don’t. They can’t. Someone would have talked by now, plus, no motive.

Her friends were involved in the organ harvesting scam. Sorry but there is no way I am risking my life in prison by hiring a bunch of kids to help me get organs. These kids have nothing to gain by doing this. The theory makes little sense.

Baby mama / Baby daddy drama. Kenneka wasn’t supposed to go to the party. If this was a plan to kill her, then it wasn’t well thought out. We know that many of the kids in the same crowd have dated or have kids with others that dated their friends/ex-friends. Could it be possible, sure but that person would have to have involved 40 others in an effort to cover the murder. Again, I believe in loyalty but to this level? No.

All I can say is I’ve invested a ton of time into trying to find out what happened to this baby and I haven’t been able to come up with anything solid at all. I don’t like to deal with “what if’s” – I need facts, photos, and videos that show me something before I can condemn someone for murder. If you’ve got solid information, I’d love to hear it.

I did call Rosemont PD on Saturday, 10/14. I was told they are still on the case. They haven’t closed it and should be releasing info soon (they did not release the info circulating around the net on 10/13)

A blog came out titled “Why I don’t believe the Vaxxed bus stories” by Kathy. She writes a blog in favor of vaccines. Her description of herself from the blog:

“I am a long-time vaccine advocate. I am a mother, educator, and scientist. You can read here about what started me on this vaccine advocacy journey. While I don’t like to use my children for attention, I do believe that story is important to share. I also believe it is valid for me to note that I have a child on the autism spectrum. My interest in vaccines and autism advocacy comes from the heart. I will always read respectful comments and consider them thoughtfully. My goal is to educate people about the risks and benefits of vaccines, according to international scientific consensus. I have no ties to pharmaceutical companies whatsoever and never have.”

Reply to Kathy’s blog:

If you haven’t seen or heard of the Vaxxed bus, it travels the country providing parents a way to tell their stories of vaccine injury. The bus came about after the film Vaxxed was released, you can see it here: Vaxxed on AmazonVaxxed Action Items

Vaxxed details the account of Dr. Brian Hooker and Dr. William Thompson of the CDC. The Centers for Disease Control are clear in their stance on vaccines and have asserted many times that vaccines are safe. Dr. William Thompson called Dr. Brian Hooker seemingly out of the blue. Those phone calls changed our outlook on the CDC, vaccines and the integrity of “peer-reviewed papers.” Dr. Hooker recorded the phone calls and released some of those in the Vaxxed movie. This movie was specifically about his issue but it spawned a movement. Part of that movement is the Vaxxed bus.

The Vaxxed bus has over 6,000 names on it now, all vaccine injured or passed away after receiving a vaccine. Doctors, nurses, scientist and parents have visited the Vaxxed bus. Here are a few of their stories: We Are Vaxxed Videos

Rather than pick apart the writer’s critique of each story that she focused on, I will just say this, she isn’t on the bus, she wasn’t in the hospitals, she has never met the parents, she has no medical degree and has no idea of what goes on during interview or pre-interview on the Vaxxed bus. All of that being said, how can she determine whether vaccines played a role in the child’s health or not? She can’t. She can state her opinion based on what she’s read and that’s fair but she cannot say these stories are “fake”.

SIDS: The writer moves on to SIDS and infant mortality being at an all time low. She goes on to show graphs and info on why we are doing great and there is nothing to be concerned about. I am concerned. We are supposed to be one of the most advanced countries in the world medically. Can we attribute the decline to the “Back to Sleep Campaign” as the writer suggests? National Recommendations for SIDS Prevention

Does back sleeping awareness show a clear reduction in SIDS from place to place? No, it doesn’t. If all of the countries listed have the same campaigns and an average number of parents are doing what is recommended yet the SIDS rate is different in each place by a wide amount, what else could contribute to that? What are the vaccination practices for these countries? Let’s take a look. Study Vaccines / SIDS

We give more vaccines earlier in life than most other countries. We have a higher SIDS rate than most other countries. The writer goes on to show this chart and claims the US is closer to the “better countries than the worst”. We are sitting between Serbia and Croatia. Both have mandatory vaccination policies but we still hold the record in the number of vaccines given before age 1. I know, that doesn’t matter. No proof at all. SIDS must be because mom’s are doing something wrong.

Polly and the crew: The writer asks why Polly Tommey (Vaxxed bus leader) doesn’t know there is no autism epidemic. She claims that the diagnosis change is responsible for much of the rising rate. Polly’s son Billy was injured by his baby vaccines and is autistic. That was over 18 years ago. I have never met Polly personally but will this weekend. From everything I’ve heard about this woman, she’s wonderful. She cares. She listens. She has left her family for a year and taken on a massive project. This isn’t something people do for fun. We’ve been called insane or conspiracy theorist for years because we believe vaccines can injure. Polly put herself on the front line for people like me. Thank you, Polly. And Del, Andy, Suzanne, Anu, Josh, Patrick and Sheila. You are our heroes. ❤️

AUTISM: There is far too much on vaccines & autism to cover in one blog post. For the sake of our sanity and time, we will only go into one area at this time.

Let’s look at the latest viral issue – Somali children and Autism. We’ve only heard about this epidemic because of the measles outbreak of 2017. The Somali community slowed down the rates of vaccination when the rate of autism grew to 1 in 32. Prior to 2008 and seeing all the cases of autism, the Somali people vaccinated around 92%. Many Somali parents say the changes happened directly after vaccination. The autism issue has been around for many years in the Somali community in MN (and other states). In 2010 a study was done to determine the prevalence. It was released in 2013. Univ of MN StudyLonger version of study

Here is a video from the parents. Autism: A Somali-American Story It’s been said the Somali community stopped vaccinating because they meet with Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Here is a father who says that simply isn’t true. Somali dad talks autism and vaccines Another video done by VICE titled “Anti-Vaxxers and Fear Caused Minnesota’s Measles Outbreak.” Anti-Vaxxers and Fear This shows both sides – leaning more toward the pro side. What do you think?

Vaccines are rare in Somalia, with an estimated 30% of children even having access to them. And the Somali schedule, outlined by the World Health Organization, contains roughly half the number of vaccines compared to the U.S. schedule. When Somali immigrants were told that all the vaccines given here were necessary to protect their children, they confidently complied. Autism One article (parents perspective)

Because many Somali parents had never heard of autism and being different is taboo in their culture, many parents have hidden their children. Epidemiologist Michael Rosanoff says “It shouldn’t be overlooked that we may be underestimating autism in the Somali community”. Underestimating?

STORIES: The writer then goes on to pick apart a few of the over 6,000 stories that have been told on the bus. I won’t go into any detail there. I don’t know the parents, the child, the medical history, the situation or anything that would qualify me to judge these people. Shame on the writer for even trying to discredit them.

DIAGNOSIS: We can move on to autism not being an epidemic but only rising due to the changes in diagnosis.

Let’s go over the DSM (the test or tool used to diagnose disorders). The criteria for autism: Autism – DSM-5

Please read the last line – This disorder is considered chronic and often co-occurs with other mental conditions like depression, attention-deficits/hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. Co-occurs. That means one would get a diagnosis of both Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability, they are not one in the same. That change does not account for the increased prevalence in Autism. Here is what the writer said in the blog “Mental retardation diagnosis was REPLACED by ID or Autism. That isn’t correct. Below is the graphic from the writers blog:

Rather than assume I was right, I called the American Psychiatric Association at 703-907-8640. I asked them if Intellectual Disability and Autism spectrum disorder were two completely different diagnoses. Answer – yes, they are two totally different diagnoses and you can have both but they are not interchangeable. I asked if somehow they are all being put under Autism Spectrum Disorder and she said “No. They aren’t the same. ID did replace MR and can be diagnosed along with autism but not in place of it.” The website which lists the screening tools, fact sheets, changes and more. www.psychiatry.org – info is listed under DSM.

The debate on whether or not to vaccinate has been around since vaccination began. This is not a new trend. Jenny McCarthy didn’t start it. Andrew Wakefield isn’t the Godfather of our movement (but we do love him). I believe people like Kathy believe everything they are saying, just as I do. I believe that Kathy is firm in her stance on vaccination just as I am on my stance not to vaccinate. Unfortunately, it’s come to a point in this debate that we can no longer have civil conversations. We have pages and groups that have one purpose: harass, ridicule and cause issues for parents who question the safety of vaccination. All of us who run groups, pages or sites have a responsibility to provide accurate information. A major complaint I have with these groups is that false info runs rampant (both sides). Vaccines are not without risk. Vaccines aren’t a one size fits all. Vaccines aren’t going to kill and maim every child. I have two children, one fully vaccinated and one vaccine injured. Many of us are that way and we trusted that nothing bad would come of vaccinating. We were wrong. We’ve seen it happen and most of us were afraid to speak up. We doubted what we saw with our own eyes. Most of us had nowhere to turn and no one to talk to about this. That’s where social media comes in. Community. People who can validate our experience. BUT it’s also where fear can be pushed or bullying can happen. We’ve got to work on encouraging parents to do the research and to trust themselves. If you don’t understand the disease then you will fear it. If you don’t understand what an antigen is, you will believe anything we tell you. Read. Talk to doctors, chiropractors, friends, family. Then read some more. If you don’t understand what you are reading, find someone who does. Someone without a strong opinion either way. But you must do the work. Not vaccinating isn’t a decision I took easily and you shouldn’t either.

If you take a walk a few blocks from my house in Boston you will run into the Methadone Mile. It’s a stretch of Mass Ave that houses a methadone clinic and a shelter. Every day the people line up to receive their prescription medication and then stumble around the neighborhood, most looking for something harder than the methadone. Many are using heroin as well. You will find used needles and other paraphernalia all over.

My church often goes up to provide these people with basic needs. We’ve heard their stories and they are heartbreaking, you’ve got old and young, parents and teens out there. Almost all started off with an injury of some sort and were prescribed an opioid. Soon the dosage isn’t enough and they turn to fentanyl or heroin. Both killers. The cost of the prescriptions can be outrageous for anyone without or in some cases, even with insurance. For the folks on Methadone Mile, many times this is part of an agreed to plan to get sober so the cost is less.

There are stories of friends lost and you see overdosing daily. They are in pain and looking for relief. I always wonder at what point the pain is so much that you shoot up in the street as kids in the backseat of cars passing by looking on. Just today at our neighborhood park, a young lady was laying in the toddler area with a needle sticking out her arm. My son was seconds from running in there. The dignity they once had was lost long ago. The sense of belonging to the community rather than just existing in it is gone too. These people aren’t just in physical pain but mental pain as well. They cannot escape their own minds. They relive the things they’ve done and not done. They have memories of what life was like long before drugs took over. That is sometimes an unbearable level of pain. The only thing that matters is getting rid of the pain. My mom was prescribed methadone after a bad accident and I’m confident it aided in her death. She was depressed, had severe anxiety and terrible physical pain. They gave her several prescriptions and most of them failed her. She tried it all, just as I did.

The drug has no enemies, sees no color or age. Doesn’t care if you have grandkids or a dog waiting at home. If it wants you, it gets what it wants.

I’ve often considered going to the doctor for my own back pain but I’ve seen too much. I saw what it did to my mom and to others I loved. Instead, I’ve used every single over the counter pill, heat pads, rubs and recommended product I could find. I went to the chiropractor and that helped more than most other things. Some worked for a day or two. Some an hour or so. Some not at all. I can’t imagine the amount of money I’ve spent. After careful research and being desperate for relief, I tried Hemp (cbd) Oil. The first couple of brands worked fairly well. Took the edge off but the ache was always right there, waiting. I heard about a different brand and tried it. I started on Aug 10th.

My results? I can tell you today I have an anxiety level of 1. Depression 0. Pain hovering around a 2. I cannot discuss that further here because it would sound like I am making a medical claim for a supplement. That is a no-no. Why? Pharma and the government have existing patents from proprietary hybrid strains of cannabis, to clean and efficient growing systems, software-based analytics and monitoring, and packaging and distribution infrastructure. I get it. Business is money and money is serious. How serious is it? See the patents and articles below.

Products will be developed rapidly I assume. Whether it will be in the form of a new prescription or not, I don’t know. I hate to see that something that’s been around since the beginning of time and that the US has had a patent on since the early 1900’s is now being fought over in the pharma and government arenas. Nothing good can come of that. Just ask those on Methadone Mile.

8. Our rights are being stripped away. Do you believe you have the right to determine which medical procedures are safe for your children?

Mississippi, West Virginia and California disagree. Many other states are looking into implementing similar policies of “medical exemptions only”. Will you allow that to happen or will you stand with us?

10. We want you to hear us. If you cannot hear us, at the very least don’t discredit our experience. We have nothing at all to gain by questioning vaccines except more transparency. That is our goal. We want fully informed consent and anything less calls for the abolishment and deconstruction of the vaccine industry.

We are living with injured children and we don’t want that happening to anyone else. Our lives have been forever changed by one decision.

As always we encourage research. Everyone must walk their own paths. We write to give you food for thought. If anything we say has prompted you to take a moment to do more research, we’ve done our jobs.

Most of us have heard about Antifa. They are a far-left militant political group. They use violence and bullying to get people to succumb to their way. They will scream you down, mob attack, they aren’t afraid of violence or the police. In fact, they often attack police.

What do they have to do with vaccination? Directly, not much but I live in Boston and this weekend there was an event titled “Freedom Speech Rally”. Follow me on this. I will get to the connection.

The organizer of the event was a college kid. He invited lots of different people and groups to speak, including a female Deaconess who promotes marijuana, Boston Black Lives Matter reps and Senate Candidates. His idea was to have all platforms and people speak, express their views and go on about their day. Unfortunately, because of a tragedy in Charlottesville earlier in the month, the event was labeled a White Supremacist rally. Somehow, the rumors began to spread that the KKK and Neo Nazi’s would be attending despite repeated statements from the organizers. The media took this and ran. Soon, many were outraged that the KKK and Neo-Nazis would DARE step foot in our city. They planned counter-protests and the numbers grew rapidly. The Mayor held a press conference denouncing hate. Some organizations were using this rally to raise donations for reparations: “the local Black Lives Matter chapter, which has been soliciting gifts to its Strategic Resistance and Response Fund, has already raised almost $30,000″.

Organizers of a counterprotest to what’s being called a free speech rally in Boston say they expect as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people to join them.

Boston-area leaders of Black Livers Matter said Friday that they don’t buy claims that the rally planned for Saturday is not about white supremacy.

The Boston Free Speech Coalition says its rally Saturday has nothing to do with white nationalism. It also says it’s not affiliated with the organizers of a rally in Charlottesville last weekend that erupted into violence and left one person dead.

See, the counter-protestors bought into the myth that this rally was about White Supremacy. Some came in fully outraged. Some came in hoping to change minds. Other came in with deeply set views on what “free speech” should mean.

Here is a Senate candidate’s tweet after the rally. His photo is attached. I ask you, does this look like hate?

Have you ever come across some of the pro vaccine advocates on Twitter or Facebook? Let’s take a look (for the sake of not offending, I’ve only included a few mild ones).

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There are well-intended people on the pro vaccination side. They believe what they’ve been told and they feel vaccines indeed save lives. I will give them a pass. Where I draw the line is threats, insults and trying to demean and discredit concerned, educated parents. The Boston Herald called for Anti-Vaccine Parents and promoters to be hanged. Many agreed.

Antifa doesn’t want others being heard.

Pro Vaccine advocates don’t want us heard.

Fortunately for us, we still have freedom of speech in this country (for now). The most important thing that was missed during the Boston Rally was research and understanding. Yes, we need to deal with hate speech on all levels but shouting others down and silencing their voice is not the answer.

What are a few misconceptions are out there about us? What can we do to have our voices heard?

#1 – All parents who question vaccine safety are anti-vaxxers!Untrue. There is a broad spectrum of parents who question vaccine safety. Yes, there are those who do not vaccinate at all. Those who did and now don’t (regret parents), those who delay and those who space them out.

#2 – The whole Anti-Vaccine movement started with either Jenny McCarthy or Andrew Wakefield.Untrue. While both of those people have been invaluable in bringing a voice to people who felt they didn’t have one, the AV movement has been around since the creation of vaccines – look up William Tebb, a British activist who fought against vaccination in the 1870s and beyond. Penalties of refusing vaccination have been around since the beginning as well. The Vaccination Act of 1853 ordered mandatory vaccination with penalties for refusing. In 1885 the town of Leicester had an anti-vaccination march estimated 100k people.

#3 – Parents who don’t vaccinate are usually white and rich or dirty and uneducated or conspiracy theorist. Untrue. The stereotypes don’t work in politics, race relations or vaccination. We’ve got to stop putting everyone in 1 box. There are people all over and from every background questioning vaccination from single moms in Idaho to Doctors in NYC.

#4 – “If we yell over them and make them feel stupid, they will start vaccinating”. A common tactic is to throw the word “science” into the conversation. There are pages like “Do you even Science, Bro?” that take aim at Anti-Vaccine people and views. Making fun of or making threats to people who only have their children’s safety in mind is unlikely to work. AV parents haven’t just jumped into this arena without knowing the risks and ridicule we face. Bullying and shaming will not work.

It is not our job to convince anyone of anything. It is our right to voice our concerns and make informed decisions about our own children. That right is being threatened by those who cannot or will not hear us. Free speech may seem like it’s something trivial when it comes to “shutting down hate” but what about when it comes for us?

Back to school time means vaccination appointments for most of the US population. We run around making sure we’ve got the paperwork to prove our kids are up to date.

What we fail to realize is there are only 3 states where vaccines are required (unless you have a medical exemption). Yes, that’s right – you have options.

Most states have a Religious Exemption and some states also have a Philosophical Exemption.

What do you need to do for a Religious or Philosophical exemption? Most times it’s simply writing out or filling out a sheet of paper and handing it in to the school in place of the vaccination sheet. Some schools will push back and say they don’t accept exemptions. Few things to know:

If a school accepts any state funds at all, they have to accept your legal exemption (except CA, WV and MS).

Some privately funded schools also accept exemptions. Call them and ask. Some will say they don’t know. Ask to speak to someone who knows. Contact someone in your area at: www.nvic.org

Information on your state can be found here: http://www.nvic.org/Vaccine-Laws/state-vaccine-requirements.aspx

When you make the decision to forgo vaccination, you will likely be pressured by your pediatrician. You need to be firm in those instances and state your reasoning, let them know you’ve done your research and have made your decision. Case closed. Many pediatric offices are now refusing to see unvaccinated (or kids who’s parents have stopped and they are only partially vaccinated). I believe this is due to financial reasons but that’s another post for another day.

Resources for further learning:

If you have questions or want to join a group of knowledgeable individuals you can request here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vaccineawareness/

Many in the special needs community have labeled the moms "Warrior Moms". We've been through battle and we've come out the other side, a bit more bruised than when we went in but still holding our heads high for having done it.

Some Warrior Moms are still deep in the battle and we see you. We are rooting for you and we hear you.

Some are business women who juggle it all, therapy, special diets, IEPS, work, meetings, supporting the family and the list goes on.

Maybe you are an at home Warrior. Homeschooling, trying to get that online business off its feet so you have money to get a pedi some day. We see you too.

Warrior Moms can spot another across Whole Foods, we are the ones buying the gluten free cookies and melatonin.

We are the ones glaring at anyone who dared to stop and stare while your child has a meltdown in Walmart. Yes, we will throat punch that person if you give the nod. We've been there.

We aren't all perfect to be sure. We could use some more patience, some more alone time, some more empathy for the lady who's taking 400 years in line in front of us. We could be nicer and sometimes we should be quieter but see, life is flying by us and we are so busy trying to fix it all. We sometimes forget to stop and care for ourselves.